To all Talbot citizens, county, state, and local officials, and prospective candidates for school boards and town or county councils,
I am an “adopted grandfather” of two boys (5 & 12) in the Talbot County School System. I have been following the MD and Talbot Education systems closely since 2021.
As I’m sure you know, Talbot students had <20% proficiency in math and <50% proficiency in English on the most recent state testing. But Talbot graduated 97% of its seniors?!?!
Right now there is a controversy over some schools adopting a minimum 50% score on school work.
The county just announced that it was issuing crisis alarms on lanyards to teachers so they can call for help if they are attacked by students.
This is unacceptable and untenable.
The funding for Talbot public education is significantly higher than that for St Peter and Paul School, a private school with a good reputation for high-quality education.
Talbot and all MD counties have been following the lead of State and National Departments of Education and teachers’ unions for decades. Following them on a path that has led to ineffective and inefficient teaching and classroom deportment that interferes with learning and makes teachers feel unsafe.
What is your stance on the MD Blueprint?
What is your stance on freedom of choice and having funds allocated for students follow students instead of schools?
What is your stance on returning control to local school boards and away from state and federal bureaucracies?
I am ready to help if our goals coincide.
Sincerely,
Kent Robertson
Michael Davis says
I hope that our school board declines this offer to help. I would guess the points raised in this letter come from Moms for Liberty. They are a centrally funded right wing organization set up by one billionaire in order to undermine public education and public libraries. A few years ago they were indentifed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Moms for Liberty have been active in trying to undermine public education in Talbot County. Before past school board elections, a group in Pennsylvania blanketed Talbot County residents with mailers containing lies about our school system. I would guess Moms for Liberty and that group share funding sources.
Mr. Robertons’s letter does provide fair warning that ultra-right wing groups will continue to work against public education in this county. Now is not too early to start preparing for the next school board elections.
By the way, a junior high school level of mathematics, including the concept of averaging, provides a powerful argument for the fairness of the 50% floor in grading. I’m sure remedial math class are available to school board members who are spending alarm about the issue.
Kent Robertson says
My letter has nothing to do with Moms for Liberty, although I assume they would have similar concerns. Why every parent and educator wouldn’t have similar concerns is beyond me.
This doesn’t preclude teachers giving makeup work once or even twice a class, which would allow students to EARN their grades and at the same time learn that nothing is for free. Pushing students along then graduating them when they don’t know the material sets them up for failure as adults. It’s not doing them any favors.
William Keppen says
This is an AI generated answer to the question –
The fairness of a 50% grading floor—a policy where the lowest possible grade on an assignment is 50% even if the work is missing or incorrect—depends on what you think grades are for. And that’s where the debate gets interesting.
🎓 Why some educators argue it is fair
Supporters say the 50% floor isn’t about “giving points for nothing”—it’s about preventing a mathematically disproportionate penalty.
• In a 0–100 scale, the “F” range is 60 points wide, while every other grade range is about 10 points.
• A single zero can mathematically destroy a student’s average, even if they understand most of the material.
• The 50% floor keeps the grading scale proportional, so one bad week doesn’t make recovery impossible.
• It encourages students to stay engaged instead of giving up once their grade becomes unrecoverable.
In other words, it treats grades more like a measure of learning and less like a punishment.
Kent Robertson says
I’m not sure if you only presented your AI search’s results for why a 50# floor is fair, but not a similar search for why it is unfair. Is it because the answers are so obvious, or something else?
Here is the Summary of what Perplexity says about opposition to the 50% floor.
“In sum, opponents see a 50% minimum as a blunt instrument: it may solve the mathematical problem of zeros, but at the cost of motivation, accountability, and the integrity and perceived fairness of grades.”